Finally, the Noughties: LG

What does LG remind you of? No, Life's not Good. Life's all about Gaga.

There is no doubt that, although GaGa has only filled two years of this decade, the Noughties will not be noughty (or naughty) without her. The heavy fashion element embedded in her music, her epic (euch, ever since those Classics extension classes about the Iliad, all other words that could stand for 'epic' is completely alien to me) stage performances and costumes, and the groundbreaking/breakthrough 'Just Dance', all of these are contributions that have undeniably rocketed the direction of our music culture. The highlights of the debut 'The Fame' definitely include 'Poker Face' and 'LoveGame'. I – am – sick of 'Just Dance'.

And right now a splitting headache is entering my head because of that silly sugar drink coffee. Breathe.

Back to the point, the artiness of the 'Paparazzi' video makes it my favourite video by far, though the song itself is not as high in my rankings. My former love for 'Starstruck' and 'Paper Gangsta' has since subsided. PG is great apart from the chorus, which should be the best part of a song, and the only bit I like about 'Starstruck' is the synthesised voice. 'Eh eh (there's nothing else I can Say)’ is quite nice, albeit lacking in energy.

And now as the eleventh month of 2009 dies, I come to fully appreciate her new mini-album. I cannot stress enough how much I love the song 'Telephone'. Its release as a single comes not too long after my downloading of 'The Fame Monster', whose sound I – surprisingly – prefer to that of the 'The Fame'. It's a slight move away from that heavy synth-filled sound, towards something that is slightly mellower but that still retains a heavy, if not heavier, beat. The only way I can describe 'The Fame Monster' is that it sounds bigger. Wahey to my writing skills! Ok attempt number 2: it sounds more epic, less restricting than 'The Fame'. When I listened to that debut album, I soon became quite sick of it because it made me feel claustrophobic and that the walls were slowly shutting in on me. Maybe I'm just a looney. But listening to 'The Fame Monster' gives me the impression that I'm being led out of my room onto some epic Wembley Stadium stage performance. Is that good? For me it is.


'Telephone' - Lady GaGa featuring Beyonce

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Finally, the Noughties: vampires galore

I've decided, because we're nearing the end of the first decade of the 2000s, that I should do something acknowledging that on this blog. So I came up with a feature where I'd do a post on something that defined our decade. Because if I think about it, I'm a real noughties kid. I'm turning the big 18 at the very end of the noughties, so looking back on these years will mean looking back on my youth. So, let's rejoice in that fact, and show some appreciation for some great ten years!

Today, I'm writing about something that you probably know is raging around the country - vampire mania. Yep, it's Twilight. But no, it's not Twilight, in that I'll be focusing on the soundtrack. The music featured in the film receives relatively little attention in the fandom, if you consider the amount of attention the actors get.

Just lolz. No wonder they're so ugly then.

I can wholeheartedly say that Twilight's OST is one of the albums that I most enjoy listening to. Note, Twilight's OST, not New Moon's OST – that, I haven't listened to yet. I'm half looking forward to listening to it, half doubting its worth, considering that they've collected a number of huge names and put them on an already million-selling movie's soundtrack. Is that another commercial trap I smell? Can't be. Still, won't judge a book by its cover. It'll probably turn out amazing and I'll end up being one of the people who fell for their trap.

I downloaded the whole album after Twilight came out, but for some reason I only kept a handful of songs: Paramore's, R-Pattz', Iron & Wine's, and the 'Clair de Lune'. They were my favourite after all. I have to say, I really liked R-Pattz' two songs, not because they're R-Pattz' (or maybe a little because of that), but because they're genuinely nice songs. I can sit and relax to them…if it weren't for his mumbling which sometimes turns into snarling. I think it's with his great acoustic guitar playing that he redeems himself.

'Never Think' - Robert Pattinson

How can you listen to that and NOT feel like you're in heaven?!

… -_- cringe alert.

I seem to have gone crazy with Twilight lately haven't I? That's cause I am. Face it, sorry little Twilight hater: if you haven't read it, you can't judge. You can't judge the Twilight fandom on the fangirls. They're just swooning over R-Pattz and Taylor Lautner. If you read it and THEN hate it, fine. Just don't judge a book by the film!

Errrrr... where's Taylor? Who the hell is this beefy bunch...

I'm actually not as obsessed as I was this time last year. This time last year I was at the Twilight premiere. Yep, the Twilight premiere. omgomgomgomg I saw R-Pattz....'s back. Who else did I see.. Alex Zane, Dev Patel, N-DUBZ (why they were invited i have no idea), Jasper (? I think), K-Stew, and I don't really remember who else.  And soon after that, I went to the 'Tales of Beedle the Bard' release party in Piccadilly Waterstone's. I'm just that sad! God, I'm such a nerd.

'Decode' is played the most out of the soundtrack, so I thought I'd give the other song some limelight. Haha, sorry, not 'the other song', I mean 'I Caught Myself', by Paramore.

So I just downloaded the New Moon soundtrack. It's sounding preeettty good. There's a piano piece played by Alexander Desplat – a French pianist, I'll have you know – and it's beautiful. He also happens to compose/play (?) the New Moon score. Here's the offical soundtrack tracklist - I've highlighted my fave bits.

New Moon OST

1. Death Cab for Cutie, 'Meet Me on the Equinox'
2. Band of Skulls, 'Friends'
3. Thom Yorke, 'Hering Damage'
4. Lykke Li, 'Possibility'
5. The Killers, 'A White Demon Love Song'
6. Anya Marina, 'Satellite Heart'
7. Muse, 'I Belong to You (New Moon Remix)'
8. Bon Iver and St. Vincent, 'Rosyln'
9. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, 'Done All Wrong'
10. Hurricane Bells, 'Monsters'
11. Sea Wolf, 'The Violet Hour'
12. Ok Go, 'Shooting The Moon'
13. Grizzly Bear, 'Slow Life'
14. Editors, 'No Sound But The Wind'
15. Alexandre Desplat, 'New Moon (The Meadow)'

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'Meet me on the Equinox' - Death Cab for Cutie

'Hearing Damage' - Thom Yorke

'I Belong To You' (New Moon Remix) - Muse

'Shooting the Moon' - OK Go

'New Moon (The Meadow)' - Alexandre Desplat

'Possibility' - Lykke Li

PLEASE READ: Summit Entertainment, Thom Yorke, Muse, Lykke Li, Death Cab for Cutie, OK Go, Alexandre Desplat, Robert Pattinson, and (my beloved) Paramore: I DO NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP TO ANY OF THE ABOVE SONGS. I'm not making them available for downloads, I'm not scheming behind your backs to try and bring you down and cheat your stinkingmoney out of you, i'm just promoting

That's a lot of tracks to load you with, but, if you haven't seen the movie, you can understand the mood of it through this soundtrack. What can make me really happy is when films or television shows have some really good soundtracks - and not just a load of good songs plonked together, but songs that fit the meaning of the show/film, and I think that the Twilight music crew have done that amazingly. I can picture each song being played in  specific scenes (that I imagine from having read the book). Pity the acting isn't up to the same level.

I wonder whether Twilight will be remembered in fifty years' time, or whether it'll be a one hit wonder. Or four-hit wonder. OK, not particularly articulate today: what I mean is, whether it's just a phase. Just a phase? Yeahhh, how can something that's adored by teenagers be concretised as a classic?

Erm, the Beatles? Elvis Presley? A load of other things which I could name but can't because my brain is not functioning?

Point made.

xxxx

sad times

Surprisingly, I feel like I'm actually missing out on this fat New Moon hype. I thought I'd put my Twilight ways behind me, that I could not see New Moon this weekend because it's the wasteman thing to do, and that I could nevertheless survive. Aparently not. Edward is my all. Without him I cannot breathe. I curled up in a ball on a forest floor covered in brown autumn leaves today. I thought I saw him. I realized it was his ghost. I'm Isabella Swan, abandoned by the one man I loved.

...Are you cringing inside, cause I defs am. I didn't mean for that to turn out how it did, but as I started writing it I got steered in that direction and got into it. it's just too much fun to make fun of Bella Swan. She needs to sort herself out.

Anyway, I wasn't joking when I said that I'm missing out. The beautiful men are worth the cringe. it does seem a bit like it's those two men are a form of commercial hypnosis - that's all that's ensnaring the nation into the cinemas. Because Kristen Stew can only look as if she's about to kill Edward and not the other way around, Rob Pattz looks like he's constipated half the time, and...who else is in the film (apart from Taylor)? nobody cares about the others, apart from Emmett and Jasper who are B-U-F-F.

And now, onto Taylor. Literally. He is actually beautiful. That smile, that skin，those muscles, those teeth- ok this is getting weird now isn't it. Can't help it if he's a buff werewolf, jeez. Auch, get off that screen and over here now.

Notice how I just spent ten minutes ranting about a film I haven't even seen. try imagine how I'm gonna be after I actually see it (if I ever get round to it)

God save Britain. or the world. or the universe (after all, them vamps and werewolves may well have cult followings on Mars, they're that beautiful).
xxxx

music

I'd like to start this post by thanking you guys for your support. I started this blog with no expectations (aside from expecting that nobody would read it), so to have anybody even going onto my page is very encouraging. I thank you even more for the lovely comments you've made about my blog, my layout, and especially those about my writing because that has previously always been an area where I've been unsure of myself. So thank you; now I only hope I can return the favour by continuing to give you light, yet – most importantly – interesting and entertaining reading (and laughing, hopefully).

Just a quick request, if you leave comments – especially in the shout box on the far right – please leave your name, or at least a screen name, otherwise it's just a long list of Guest Guest Guest Guest, and it looks like one person has become socially withdrawn and decided to spend their life on my blog. And, also you can't tell what's said by who. So yes, at least a screen name!

Music-wise: Thursday this week I heard You Me At Six's upcoming new single, 'The Consequence'. If you missed it (bad, bad You Me at Six fan), catch it on the Radio 1 Nick Grimshaw page (like I did). Or just listen to it on the right.

I like it! After hearing 'Finders Keepers' and 'Kiss and Tell', I liked them somewhat, but this is truly a move away from that kind of sound and back to their old sound (angry rawr angry rawr angry rawr. I'm SO weird.) No joke, I actually think my inclination towards angry music is really telling about my character... But back to the point, you can tell they have feeling in this song, that they've put themselves (maybe not their heart) into it. Josh Franceschi said that he had to rewrite the lyrics of most of their songs from the forthcoming album after their tour in America because he'd just come out of a long-term relationship – does that mean I stand a chance now? - so the sincerity that this shows (changing your lyrics to reflect your emotions) tells me that they are putting themselves into this song. Hopefully that will also be the case for the new album (out in Jan 2010, folks, GO GET IT). You Me At Six, welcome back.

A song that seriously makes me want to cry because of its pointlessness is Lily Allen's 'Who'd Have Known'. Yeah, I know, I loved her 'Guess What Batman (Fuck you very much)', but the former just makes me think, 'what is wrong with her?!' How could she possibly have thought that this song was good enough to release as a single? How could she possibly have thought that it was good enough to put on an ALBUM?! Things wrong with it: the chorus sounds too much like Take That's 'Shine' (perhaps that's intentional, but it doesn't work in any way!) it's slow in a lo-o-o-ong, drawn-out way, and it's lifeless. I'm not even asking for heart, or emotion, or soul, just something that makes me think it's sung by a living thing. HELP ME NOW.

Another song that's making me despair atm (but not as much) is Ke$ha's 'Tik Tok'. I mean, when I first heard it, I thought it was some weird sort of MileyCyrus-Cascada-EsmeeDenters hybrid. So – wrong. It's a tune I can't get out of my head and that's good to sing, but lyrically and musically it's crazy. The verses she sings are – what the hell are they?! It's just her talking, really... I can't even describe it. Speechlessness, but in a bad way. There's no energy in the song, it's nanananana..nanananana... I don't need this kind of music! (Oh, there goes the music snob.) Too many artists who don't know what they're doing. It's not even fun music. I can handle bad music that's jokes, but bad music that is just bad and fills a space... no.

(OMDZ what?! When I saw the name Ke$ha I thought she'd have been black. Woops.)

Last word, well done to my friend NO (I'm not just saying NO angrily, however weird I may be) for her success in the Bank of England competition!

xxxx

classics is my bluddy life

[written on Thursday 19 November 2009]:

I have neglected my blog for a few days for the only reason that this week has been very revealing for me. My mock interview, my Classics extension class, my interview practice – they've all told me I've a lot of work yet to do, and I need to invest a lot more of myself into it if I want to get rewards for it. More Classics: unseen translation, the Symposium, Classics Magazine contributor-searching. My life has truly been taken over by Classics, that dead subject that nobody in the real world actually cares about. Oh dear. At this rate, I'm truly on my way to becoming one of those snobby academics who have what none of us want: no life. (That's IF I get working.)

Anyway, I turned down a good friend's birthday dinner this week because of that (Classics, that is). Thanks to my mum, actually, whose guilt-tripping is very effective. I never thought I'd come to see the day that I thank my mum for her 'one reward for every drop of sweat' (charming, I know), but because I stayed in on that day (the day of my disastrous interview practice) I now understand what it is that I need to do.

I'm being really boring aren't I. Kids, that's what Classics does to you. Or at least, it's what your Classics HoD does to you when he makes you realise how little work you'd been doing and how much time you'd been spending on my blog, and, hence, how much more Classics-y you need to get. And that is the sad truth of life. I'm going to be really, really, un-funny if I get into Classics any further.

Ach, I'm so funny.

Ok that is not funny, I gotta stop saying that.

Anyway, I have now worked out my future career plan (the one that I'm aspiring to anyway). It's ambitious, it's heavy, but I wanna do it! And I probs won't reveal it just yet.

xxxx

LS' at Babble

[written on Sunday 15 November 2009]

Hi, I think this is the first post that I'm writing as I'm working through the night. Yup, Sunday night and I've just been to a friend's 18^th. Worth it? Definitely. Now I can sit down and focus, without the need for a distraction. Except... I've just found one. You.

I like to write, that's all! One kind of writing I'm slightly anxious about is for my job as my school's Classics Magazine Editor. I don't know what the hell I'm gonna write about (that could be interesting AND suitable). It does not help that the head of the Classics department specially mentioned me and my co-editor in his speech at the Classics Symposium, thanking us "in advance" for the Magazine. No pressure!

I came back from my friend's, only to find my mum looking at me slightly ominously.

"You've got that interview practice tomorrow and you still went out."

[please note, there's no anger ruminating inside of her, she's just talking normally.]

Later, she said to me "I just don't believe you went to a birthday"

"What? Then where did I go?"

"Yeah, tell me where did you go?"

"Euch..."

Funny thing: until she [even later] asked me if we'd "been dancing", I was sure that her idea of birthdays was sitting round a table, having a tea party. Except, not really: my mum's actually quite in touch with the outer universe of teenagers.

On the other hand, my dad had a slightly more serious look about him. "In the future, it would be better if you didn't go out on Sundays because the next day you have school" (though in Chinese it's a lot more assertive in such a way that they don't really mean "it would be better for you" in a nice way. They mean "it would be better for you otherwise i'm gon kick yo ass in")

xxxx

Past pics of the week

Here's a list of all those glorious pics:

Week of 13 Nov '09: New Moon Barbies

Week of 20 Nov '09: New Moon poster with actual vampires in

Week of 27 Nov '09: Don't be a jerk

Week of 11 Dec '09 128ve980

Week of 25 Dec '09: Paramore at Wembley

Week of 15 Jan '10: UN stands for moment of silence for Haiti

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DOWN WITH CENSORSHIP

Right, so another rant about my school's blocking system.

I was on my last.fm account (which, by the way, you can find a link to on this page), and wanted to listen to Eminem's 'Business' on the last.fm website. Clicked on 'Business', and it went to this:

.

So I thought, hah, is it filtered because it's last.fm? I'll try again..

Tried again. It came up again. Hmmmm... I google searched Eminem. Or attempted to, because as soon as I pressed the Enter button, that freakin filter message came up again! So it's Eminem they're against... If you look carefully at the filter message, you can work out why they've blocked it:

Freakin' intolerance list?! What the hell!!! WHY?!

Fine I can see why, but, erm, WHY?!

Kids at my school are well in touch with the world, thank you very much, so you filtering stuff is only gonna make them hungrier to find out more about the very things you don't want them to find out about. At home. Where (hopefully, otherwise I'm gon shank their parents too) there are no filters! Get a life.

Let me also say, after I uploaded the screenshots to my photobucket account, the pictures were white with a red cross, because surprise surprise, the file name contained eminem and therefore COULD NOT BE SHOWN. Funny how the screenshots are of school-produced messages, so strictly speaking, it's their own messages that they're filtering as 'intolerant'. Ha, the irony. (Aren't I funny)

Why do I spend my life ranting about stuff when I should be ENGLISH ESSAY-ING?!

Moving on.

Omg. Aside from being slightly freaked out by this, I am mainly very flattered! Observe:



If you can see (which you probably can't because for some reason Photobucket has decided to be anal and resize pictures so that they're tiny and unseeable, so that I've spent 10 minutes looking for a photo hosting service, which has been in vain since this picture is still unseeable) then you'll notice that my song of the week (STFUppercut by The Blackout) has been played 26 times, 10 of which have been in the United States, and once in Brazil, Russian Federation (what?!), Belarus, Ukraine, Spain, and the Netherlands. Omg. Firstly, since when is Russia called the Russian Federation?! Am I that out-of-date?! Secondly, wow. Never realised my blog had spread that far...

I couldn't look at my stats for 'Complicated Sex on Fire' because.. well, take a big fat guess (I'm at school right now). The Filter message that comes up is 'RM Pornography and Illegal or Age-Restricted Activity List' LOL. Since there was a hyperlink, I followed it, only to find a million-page long ting about the filtering policy.

Back to the point, THANK YOU RANDOM BELARUSIAN (is that even a word) FOR VISITING MY PAGE!

Lastly, tell me to my face that you don't find this ridic:

Those are the Barbie/Ken/wtf dolls they've made?! I mean, Taylor is too ugly, Kristen is too pretty, and Rob Pattz is too fit. Totally the wrong way round!!! (Btw, I'm not saying that Edward Cullen is meant to be ugly. I'm saying RP is.)

I love how in the New Moon they've just made up the fact that Jacob prances around half-naked (except from this pic it looks more like a two-thirds naked) so as to give Taylor Laut an excuse to flash his Abercrombie abs. Yep, he modelled for Abs. OMG Abs abs. OK I'll shut up now.

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Past vids.

Here's a list of the videos I have previously featured:

Week of 13 Nov '09 - 'A Message to Homophobes'

Week of 20 Nov '09 - 'Bad Romance' - Lady Gaga

Week of 27 Nov '09 - 'I'm A Realist' - The Cribs

Week of 11 Dec '09 - You Me At Six dissing chavs

Week of 25 Dec '09 - Granny's got the jizz in her panties for Edward

Week of 15 Jan '10 - 'Down (Jay Sean Parody)' - The Midnight Beast

[yeah, it's practically empty, but it'll get filled up!]
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Past choons.

Hey guys, if you wanna catch up on past choons, or are just interested in what I do with my life, then here's a list that will be compiled as the weeks go past:

Week of 13 Nov '09 - 'STFUppercut' - The Blackout

Week of 20 Nov '09 - 'The Consequence' - You Me At Six

Week of 27 Nov '09 - 'Telephone' - Lady GaGa featuring Beyonce

Week of 18 Dec '09 - 'Stop This Song (Love sick Melody)' - Paramore

Week of 25 Dec '09 - 'Decoy' - Paramore

Week of 15 Jan '10 - 'Starry Eyed' - Jakwob remix of Ellie Goulding's tune.

[under construction...]
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F you.

'Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you very very mu-u-u-ch'.



You may have watched the video of the week (13.11.09) already and recognise those lyrics. My friend EC sent me this video calling it 'cute', and I expected another of her chipmunk (or something) videos, so you can imagine my surprise when I watched the vid. Plus, I opened it when my dad was having dinner in the room, and when it got to the chorus, it took me a whole five minutes to realise I had to close the damn window. Woopsies.

As I listened to it I thought I recognised the singer as Lily Allen. But I doubted it would be her because I wouldn't usually associate her (a mainstream-ish singer) with the LGBT scene. It turns out that it is her. I don't know why I found it weird; it must be because I see the LGBT scene and the mainstream scene as quite separate, seeing as the mainstream scene is just that homophobic. It could be said that you often see gays in the M scene, but get real – when have the depictions of gays been anything but a camp gay guy with a lisp? I've mentioned this in an earlier post, but in a documentary by the BBC (that featured one of my friends), it was made clear that people in Britain have gross misconceptions of homosexuality, and even more of queer-ness.

The video is, indeed, really cute, and I have not been able to get the song out of my head (yep, it's only in my head, cause I can't sing it aloud when surrounded by fam). And it's funny, especially the bit when one of the guy starts kick his legs up in can-can style. It's just that idea of playing up the gay-ness to rub it into the homophobes' faces isn't it. But most importantly, it's telling you homophobes to suck it up and come to terms with bloody sexuality. I was thinking about this the other day: people say 'I'm not secure about my sexuality'. But people aren't secure about sexuality in general either. Maybe I'm just making things up. Am I mistaken, though, that being insecure about one's own sexuality means not being certain that one is heterosexual and being afraid of being homosexual because of the mockery that that will attract? And that being insecure about sexuality in general means being uncomfortable with the fact that there is a whole other myriad of sexualities?

Human sexuality is just a spectrum though, not a set of categories that people should be pigeon-holed into. Well, people blatantly are pigeon-holed, and that's completely... ridiculous. It's accepted as a concrete fact that heterosexuality is the norm, from the very moment you see the world. Children think that a girl kissing a girl isn't something that should happen. If you're a teenager, everyone makes a big deal of homosexuality. Queers are discriminated against in the workplace. The world (or at least Britain) thinks that homosexuality is a whole other niche, that the people in that niche are 'special'. Take Dumbledore. Yeah, the Harry Potter one. People made SUCH a fat deal about his homosexuality. Then, Rowling admirably said, 'he's just a character who happens to be gay'. If you're a heterosexual, nothing's commented upon. But if you're a homosexual, then that's who you are, you're 'the gay one'. Admittedly, I can't say that I don't see my LGBT friends as 'my LGBT friends'. So, really, I'm a bloody hypocrite, aren't I.

On a sliiiightly unrelated note, I just listened to the words 'Birthday Sex'. Oh my god. The mountains of innuendo (which, thank you very much, I GET!) in there are unbelievable. And I can't believe I never heard the quieter singing of 'I'm gon' hit the G-spot, G-spot'. Just, oh my god. I'm gobsmacked. I knew what the song was about, but I never realised how explicit it was! How is that song even allowed on national radio?!

And I looked up the full lyrics. Jeez.

Yeah, yeah, yeah

{Verse 1}

It's your birthday so I know
you want to riiide out,
Even if we only go to myyy house
Sip mo- weezy as we sit upon myyy couch
Feels good, but I know you want to
cryyy out
You say you want passion
I think you found it
Get ready for action
Don't be astounded
We switchin' positions
You feel surrounded
Tell me where you want
your gift, girl


{Chorus}

Girl you know I-I-I
Girl you know I-I-I
I've been feenin'
Wake up in the late night...dreamin' about your lovin'
Girl you know I-I-I
Girl you know I-I-I
Don't need candles or cake
just need your body to make good

Birthday sex
Birthday sex

It's the best day of the year, girl

Birthday sex
Birthday sex

It feels like, feels like... lemme hit that...g-spot g-spot

{Verse 2}

See you sexy and them jeans got me
on 10
1-2-3, think I got you pinned
Don't tap out...fight until the end
Ring that bell; we gon start over again
We grindin' wit passion, cuz it's yo birthday
Been at it for hours...I know you thirsty
You kiss me so sweetly...taste just like Hershey's
Just tell me how you want yo gift, girl

{Chorus}

{Verse 3}

First I'm gonna take a dive into the water deep until I know I pleased
that body (body ah oop)
Or girl without a broom
I might just sweep you off your feet
And make you wanna tell somebody
(body, how I do)
somebody body how i do
Or maybe we can float on top my water bed you close your eyes as i impry between your legs
We work our way from kitchen stoves, and tables
Girl you know I'm more than able to please, yeah
Say you wanted flowers on the bed (on the bed)
But you got me and now it's on again

{Chours) (it's the best day of the year, girl)
(lemme know what it feels like, feels like, when I hit that G-spot, G-spot)

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The choon is great. But the idea...

I actually had a full discussion with my friend AM about this. I was the conservative grandma. I just hate how – especially in R'n'B by male artists – sex is so carelessly portrayed. It's so completely devalued nowadays, and I'm not advocating a reversal to the olden times where anyone who had sex outside/before marriage were outright criminals, but come on... have some self-respect. God, I sound like one of those lameo girls who think 'Awh, I'm saving my first time for that special boy'... And now I sound like a nymphomaniac. Errrr.....

Gah, as DS put it: why do I even bother with a sense of morality?!

xxxx

p.s. jeez i go on bloody rants about LGBT issues don't I...

people, i have no friends

Helloo, just a quick update: I've now got a shoutbox on the far right, so you don't have to comment on specific posts to talk to me, now you can just comment. I think. I don't actually know if it's going to work.

Oh and you can chat to each other.

xxxx

a proper blog

OK, let's get serious. Here's your song for the day:



'Without Me' - Eminem

'Now this looks like a job for me, so everybody- just follow me, cause we need a little..controversy, cause it feels so empty without me'. Freakin amazing chorus. Oh and also 'I'm the worst thing since Elvis to do black music so selfishly and use it to get myself wealthy'. Well at least he's honest about himself.

I only rediscovered this song sometime a month ago when I downloaded all of his albums. He is a fookin legend, that guy. I'd been looking for this song for ages and when it randomly came on my shuffle I nearly collapsed. Well, no, I didn't, I was just really happy.

I know I'm not alone in thinking that he's not the rapper he used to be. It really is the mainstream-ness that's ruined him. Starting out in a clearly defined 'rap' pigeonhole meant that he could do his thing, swear all he wants, have that raw 'ghetto' (ok that is not something I can pull off) energy. He's been blown up now though, and the wants of the people and the majority have fed into his music. You see, now, the snares of mainstream culture? ALL AGAINST MAINSTREAM MUSIC.

No? Suit yourself.

You mustn't get the wrong idea, I'm not being snobbish and looking down my nose at all mainstream stuff (...maybe a little) – no, I'm only condemning the mainstreamness that makes initially perfectly alright (and perhaps even amazing) things into overplayed, mis-valued (I totally invented that word. Hell yeah, I'm the next Virgil), abused works in order to do the one thing that everybody in this room wants to do: get some extra dosh into their pocket. Maybe it starts out as 'giving the artist more coverage and radio play', but soon it's all flashing-lights, overcrowded-schedule, you-have-to-say-and-do-this-to-get-the-paparazzi-talking-about-you-in-the-right-way. It's all 'we're doing this for you', but secretly it's 'we're doing this for us'. I appreciate that there are several people behind the scenes who deserve the credit and reward, but that is what is making the music industry so corrupted and distorted. The artist wants fame, wants wealth, wants luxury... because of the mainstream culture that has been thrust upon them.

Although I'm a whole-hearted music fan, I completely disagree with the fact that it is these artists who are some of the top earners. It's warped. Why should someone who provides such a basic service as clearing our streets of litter, or as cleaning our buildings, earn millions fewer than someone who busts a few tunes? Of course, music reaches further, deeper, able to lift our moods, inspire us, understand us. But that doesn't keep us living (realistically). The world should get real.

So, guys, if in ten years' time you hear about me, it'll be cause I'm causing waves of change in the music industry.

Let's travel back to Eminem.

He's old now. Dare I also say his music sounds way too chirpy or jokes. I know he is one for the jokes and pranks, but that means he can't really be taken seriously for that kind of music. Maybe if he puts out another album (celebrities just don't let it go do they), he might regain that energy and some (not too much) of that solemnity.

OK he's just lost some of my respect. I'm listening to 'Cleanin Out My Closet' (from The Eminem Show) and he called his father a 'faggot'. I've no idea whether his dad actually is gay, but even if he isn't, I hope Eminem doesn't realise that 'faggot' is derogatory. Cause if he was fully aware of it and still used it, then he's going downnnnnn in my books.

[Later Edit: Nope, just researched it, and, assuming this interview is genuine and true, then he says he only uses it because he was taught it as meaning 'coward', 'sissy' etc., and because he doesn't wanna put on a face for the record... Mmyeah. I damn right hope you're being honest Marshall Mathers. Cause if you are, then there's a lot of respect being felt over here.]

Right, this was hard to choose, but

Top Three Eminem songs: 'Without Me', 'Business', and 'My Dad's Gone Crazy' (though I do have put on my feminist hat and condemn his attitude to 'pussy' and 'clit'. But i do admire his lyrics '"if you ain't got nothing nice to say, then don't say anything”...fuck that [...] I'd rather put out a motherfucking gospel record')

Whew, that was some long post. Hope you enjoyed!

xxxx

my life is mighty exciting

Right. So as sky-high figures of people tell me they read my blog (haha, I'm so narcissistic, and I'm so kidding myself), I definitely have to step up my game. You might have noticed a slight change in the layout of my blog. I've got Dante Araujo to thank for designing the basic template. I'm now officially in love with my blog (gahhhhh stop this self-love immediately).

My life is so not worth describing right now. It's just work work work, read read read, blogwrite blogwrite blogwrite. Ok how many of my recent posts have been about school?! The most frequent post tag is 'school'. Oh I am just so cool. That rhymes. (Haha, that just reminds me - we're currently studying Hamlet in English, and in our lesson yesterday, the teacher asked 'who's in the mood to read Gertrude?' There was a ten-second pause, then I said aloud 'that rhymes'. Oh lord, what's wrong with me?)

Blah. So I'm blog-subject-less today.

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I could go on.. but I won't. O. M. G. I am so bored.

Oh! thought of something – I HATE MATHS.

Maths coursework could replace taser guns for the purpose of freakin putting us to sleep with a freakin violence degree of 100. That did not make any sense. This is what IB does to you. Or.. it's just me. I'm literally rambling now. Why can't I do this in interviews?!

Speaking of interviews, in my Extended Essay (4000 word essay we have to write for the IB diploma, no big deal) viva (some kind of post-essay-submission meetinterview) yesterday, I said 'erm' and 'like' way too many times. And was way too stuck for thoughts. That is actually how I'm going to be in interviews. 'Erm...like, you know that ting bruvz... innit that ting... basically... it's like...' Yup, that is me.

I just can't think straight in interview situations, because all I think about is saying something intelligent. Which is what would most please them, but that gets me straying from the path of 'say what you think'. But I don't know what I think because all I'm thinking about is the freakin' fact that this ting is called an 'interview'! Muaha, I'm so calm it's not even funny. Ok that phrase has to go. And so does 'like'. Help me guys...

Oh, another embarrassing moment yesterday morning, at the end of our Latin lesson, my Latin teacher asked one of the girls if she could 'have a word'. Not 'stay behind', but 'have a word'. Meanwhile, I was finishing up the bit of work we were doing in the lesson, and I saw the girl packing up so I assumed they were leaving the room to have this private convo. I sat there. And sat there. And sat there. Writing, of course, not just sitting (I'm not that much of a moron), until I sort of realised...they were waiting for me to leave. Oh joy. As I frantically left, I looked my teacher in the eyes and she kind of gave me this glare. Woops. Why do I get into these sitches...

xxxx

irata

The amount of anger I'm feeling is, admittedly, quite unreasonable; but then, isn't that what anger is? Unreasonable? And I'm only unreasonably angry because people are unreasonably ANAL.

Breathe.

Just a teacher. From my school.

Moving on; following on from yesterday's mortification (which I have totally gotten over. Totally.) people are still mocking me. Totally uncool, guys!

Haha, I really don't mind, but it just makes me really self-conscious thinking back to it..

So I was talking to a friend about it, and he joked that I should buy a book all about innuendos to educate my innocent mind. And he allegedly searched it on google (but obviously he was just looking up at his bookshelf) and gave me a list of innuendo books. One of them being Something I Said?: Innuendo And Out The Other. So yeah, you guys can now read the book in the comfort of your own home.

Thanks for lightening me up AB!

Finally, hellogoodbye are officially back, with the song 'When We First Met'. They have an EP (free on their myspace) with the same name. And here's the video for you guys:

When We First Met

hellogoodbye | MySpace Video

I have to say, I'm not mega-impressed... It doesn't leave me with anything, nor is it particularly peculiar. But ah well, it's hellogoodbye, and I love them.

xxxx

i'm just so funny

Well I've had my embarassment of the day today. I said something that I thought was funny in itself but did not realise at all that there was anunderlying innuendo. Awww, I'm so innocent.

What happened was that I had to give the vote of thanks to an external speaker who gave a talk today, about the 4th Century in ancient Athens. At one point, he talked about men who dressed up as prostitutes because they wanted to get into this place to kill people, so they had swords under their skirts. In my vote of thanks, I said something along the lines of 'I'm sure most of us here are glad we don't have men dressed up as prostitutes with swords under the skirts'. Everyone burst out laughing. I know, I'm just so funny.

But no, they laughed for the wrong reason.

Apparently I looked at my skirt when I said the skirt bit. Which makes it that tad bit worse. And yes, I only realised the innuendo when I sat down and my friend told me. Bah.

xxxx

ps the speaker was Michael Scott. Two people, including the head of Classics Soc and my Latin teacher, have said that he's fit. But...no. He was dashing but not fit. Anyway, I can't believe myself.

Dorset

[written on Saturday 07 Nov]

I dragged my mum and myself all the way to Dorset last night, to sit the SAT this morning at 7.45. In the morning. A bit of a waste? Hm, I think I failed that test. Because I did not revise enough. What a waste.

On a sidenote, does anyone know anything about the club/bar 'Jewel' in Covent Garden? Or the one in Piccadilly Circus? If you're a clubber extraordinaire reading this (why are you reading my blog) please get in touch : )

Back onto the topic. How awful, I wrote a terrible essay for the SAT. It was about rights – women's rights and LGBT rights. AWFUL. Worst piece of writing I've ever done. Rushed, thoughtless, poorly structured, just... hmm. Ok, I've just realised, what if the marker is reading this blog, they're gonna get majorly influenced. Correction, I've just written the best piece EVER for my SAT, it was an innovative piece that was insightful and masterfully structured and will be groundbreaking towards establishing rights for those mandemz.

...

Yeah.

It was so time-pressured! And the whole you-get-1/4-of-a-point-off-if-you-answer-wrong really threw me off, so that I didn't know whether to risk answering or to leave it blank. Blah. I'll just have to wait for my scores and see if i need to re-sit it. FML. December SAT Subject Tests next.

Travelling was good though. Rushed last night to Waterloo in late afternoon, to get on a train to Poole. I understate when I say that I love journeys. Just, sitting. Not sitting an exam, not sitting listening to a teacher drone on, not sitting in a waiting room. Just, sitting, cause you can. And I did some SAT revision. Go me. Meanwhile, there was a group of uni students sitting adjacent to us, so my SAT revision constituted of eavesdropping on their convos. Listening to them made me sure of how bloody excited I am for uni life – travelling, clubbing, being with friends – living the life, basically. Oh and the studying, obviously.

That's reminded me – I can't get this out of my mind (not to be corny) – but my mum said to me: if I knew that you'd wanted to do Classics (undergrad degree), I wouldn't have sent you to [my current school]. She wasn't angry at all when she said that. It was more mild disappointment/regret/benefit of hindsight. Because she thinks that I deserve doing something high-brow like Law, or something really specialised because I have the brains for it. No comment for now.

Onwards and upwards, I found out You Me At Six have announced a 2010 tour. Support: We The Kings, Forever The Sickest Kids. Sickk. Except, er, not that sick. You Me At Six have really deteriorated since I first heard them (approx early 2008). Back then their sound was so raw it was butchered.

Fine, bad joke.

The 'Save It For the Bedroom' demo is the epitome of their raw sound, with no industrial mainstream riff-raff making sound too clean-cut and Josh's voice still sounding quite fresh and unique. Now it's just.. teenage fangirl material (cause I'm defs not a teenage fangirl). I still like them – I think – just definitely not as much as before.

And We the Kings? I overplayed them back in January/February and am suffering the consequences now. Forever the Sickest Kids? I don't know their songs. I have their album on my iPod, just haven't bothered to listen. I'm such a bad music fan.

But I'm really not. Guess who's seeing Paramore with You Me At Six! And..two other bands, that I WILL look up beforehand! Can't wait. And the day after that gig, is my 18th PARTY. Great start to my holiday. I actually cannot wait to go mad once I'm 18.

xxxx

classics knows best

Oh dear my blog is a little messed up. I tried to stick in some HTML layout code (neek talk) but it didn't really work and I didn't realise that that erased my old layout...Bah. Ah well, it'll have to do with being average-looking.


What's on my mind today... The fact that I've been advised to put everything second to my priority of the moment – Classics. Oh yeah. So all those English, History, Philosophy essays, those Maths and Chemistry five-page-long sets of questions: they'll just have to be 5/20 quality. Well I've achieved that in History already, and in Maths (well ok, I achieved that a year ago). Chemistry won't be hard to be crap at, I've got two English essay deadlines for next week, and I am horrendously behind on Philosophy homework as it is. Oh and those Philosophy and Maths courseworks – wahey!

On a happier note, the Classics extension class today left me feeling really happy, a feeling that is seldom felt after those classes. And that is nothing to do with the fact that MS groaned and snarled about a gazillion times. Also to do with Classics (it really is taking over my life), the Classics soc secretary has coerced me into doing a thank you speech for the Senior Societies speaker (every week, our school invites outside speakers to speak to us because clearly they think we're not spoken to) tomorrow, because apparently I do very little ('what is there to do for the magazine?!') work for the society. Hell yeah I do, people just don't bloody do anything in return so nobody realises that I'm working! Euch, angst. Yeah, not something I'm looking forward to doing. And, another Classics thing I have to sort out is a) a name for the freakin magazine, b) things to actually go into the magazine? Yeah, b) would be quite nice.
Wow, that post is about 80% Classics-centric.
xxxx

you can't bring us down: we're the best in town

They really are the best in town. Somewhere in Wales. But anyway I have not stopped listening to them since I saw them live at Reading '09. I knew 'Children of the Night' early this year, but seeing them really concretised my appreciation of their music. Their energy. their raw sound, their incredible explosion of emotion - this combination is the kind of thing that makes me want to get into screamo/heavier rock.

So I was randomly looking for an mp3 file to download so that I could put it onto this blog for y'all to listen to. And I ventured onto their myspace and found out about this. Look specifically at Nov 20th. Just, omg. The two Welsh giants (for me) together, on a Friday night. (King Blues are ok, but not the most important here). But erm..£40.00... I know it's for all three bands, but come on...

Then, I found this. Even more ARGH factor for me. But this one's a bit more of a no-go for me cause it's closer to exam time. Oh, and so is Lostprophets' London tour date. BLEURGH

Anyway here's for your auditory enjoyment. The belting out of 'you - can't bring us down: WE'RE THE BEST IN TOWN' is one of my favourite bits to sing in the whole of musical existence.

'STFUppercut' - The Blackout

xxxx

p.s. you know you've got good choons when my toddler sister can sing along, 'we are the children of the night, we are the childreeeen...'

good day

So, have not been on for a week-ish. Busy busy busy. That's my week. And snooze snooze snooze (on the bus, cause night time is the new work time)

Anyway, I've only been on for... two minutes, and I have to go now. Got SAT revision to do, for the SAT test tomorrow, in an SAT test center a few million miles away, for the US unis that I don't even know whether I want to go to or not. FML!

One thing that happened this week made me think: just, omg. She's fit.

xxxx

J's.

[written on Monday 2 Nov]

I cannot believe my school network has blocked BLOGGER! What IS that?! So I'm now using my email account to MAIL this post to my blog.

Anyway, out of outrage at whoever decided that Blogger poses a threat of DISTRACTION to our school day, I decided to procrastinate. Actually, that isn't too true, I went on Blogger an hour after I started procrastinating. So erm, yeah, Blogger really doesn't distract. I was distracted already.

Came across the most awesome website that has oceans of free album downloads. How are they still alive?! How has the Internet not killed them for the illegal-ness of their activity? HOW?! (Bleurgh, just realised I've written three words in CAPS in this post alone - hmm, I must be stressed.) So, yeah, the government is shit at finding mp3 sharks. I think I just made that term up. I seem to be feeling a little erratic today. Must be a weirdo, I mean, who would be erratic, after 4 hours of sleep?! Ridic.

Hallowe'en this year? Slightly different to how I expected it to be. Plan A - go to a friend's birthday do in Camden, then go to another's halloween one. Actual plan - go to a friend's birthday do in Camden, only to find..well, not what we wanted. We wanted a place to get "titfaced" (courtesy of JJT), but we found none. We didn't want to find a druggie who stalked us for about 10 minutes, and we did. *sigh*. Good times though!

Back to the topic- because we found nowhere, they decided to go back to my friend's house. I went with them, then realised it would take me way too long to get to the halloween one. Oops.

Had a great night at their house - I don't want this whole post to turn into a private joke, so let me just say: CM is the BEST drunk to be drunk with, EVER. Oh and the 2am search for ciggies - classic; running down the road for no apparent reason, JJT ringing doorbells asking for smokes, coming across some drugged up mandemz (actually, he had green circles around his eyes, and I 've realised: I'VE GOT GREEN CIRCLES AROUND MY EYES. Someone's drugging me.), getting to a closed "open 24/7" Tesco... I swear, that only happens when I'm out with them.

My parents got well pissed..off. Because I couldn't take the train back (missed the last one. and various other reasons.) I had to call my mum up. Yep, my mum. Ok lol, she's not actually that scary. But she makes me feel so bad AND she makes me feel like I've committed some kind of heinous crime! It doesn't last long, but when it's there, it kinda sucks. Then the next day, back at home, my dad came into my room (which he rarely ever does), and asked what had happened last night (he rarely ever asks about my nights out either), so er, yeah, FREAKOUTDAD alert. I think he thinks I'm sleeping around..or something. Cause he asked where I slept, and I said 'my friend's', and he asked 'Who?' (like, in that I-think-you're-about-to-get-into-some-shizzle-if-you-don't-give-me-the-right-answer kind of voice), so I said 'J', which is their name. "Oh." Problem solved. But, lol, he thinks I'm fucking around. I'm probably a much better girl than he suspects.

Something I took away from that night though: appreciate what you have. I discovered some things I really could not have guessed beforehand, and I'm understating it to say that it was upsetting. They say that you don't realise what you have until you've lost it. Well I've had a precursive taste of that, learning what my friends had in their lives. I have no idea in the world what the fuck can I do to help them, and all I want them to know is that I'm here for them, and I'm not the only one. I'm really not the only one who's here for you.

xxxx

p.s. sorry if I don't - make - much - sense today...